Event 3: Nina Sobell EEG + Art

 The final event that I attended this quarter was Nina Sobell's EEG + Art lecture talk. Prior to my attendance at this zoom talk, I had no idea who Nina Sobell was. As a result of attending the talk, I found out that Nina Sobell is a talented artist that utilizes electronic mediums in her art. For instance, in Sobell's "thinking of you" piece, she utilized synchronicity of the brain waves of two individuals as a way of connecting them in her art. This piece was instrumental in Sobell's career forward when exploring how art and technology can intersect. 

Nina Sobell utilized EEG in some of her work which really intrigued me because I wondered how she was able to track the individuals brain waves in order to produce her projects. With further research, I found that EEG's are composed of electric wires that are connected to an individuals scalp and detect brain waves (John Hopkins Medicine). 

Furthermore, Sobell discussed her work pertaining to developing interactive environments. For instance, she worked on developing interactive sculptures. With further research on Sobell's interactive environments, I found that her goal with these exhibits is to enable people to realize their innate capacity to play (Sobell). 

Sobell's interactive play exhibits also interested me because I had never previously thought of the motive for adult play in interactive environments. Usually, artists develop interactive exhibits to teach individuals something, the intent is not usually play. With further research,  I found that there are plenty of interactive exhibits around the world that exist for adult play. One of the exhibits I found is a space museum in France which enables individual to be in an interactive play environment that makes them feel as if they are in space, almost every adult's dream, called cité de l'espace (Tigets). 

Overall, Sobell's talk was very entertaining and eye opening. It was great to see all of the interesting work she has done concerning EEG's and person to person interaction. 

“Electroencephalogram (EEG).” Johns Hopkins Medicine, 8 Aug. 2021, https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/treatment-tests-and-therapies/electroencephalogram-eeg#:~:text=An%20EEG%20is%20a%20test,activity%20of%20your%20brain%20cells. 

Sobell, Nina. “Visualizing Communication Nina Sobell 2010 Introduction My Goal.” Visualizing Communication , 2010, https://slidetodoc.com/visualizing-communication-nina-sobell-2010-introduction-my-goal/.

“The Best Interactive Museum Experiences around the World.” Tiqets.com, 19 July 2021, https://www.tiqets.com/blog/interactive-museum/.